Have you had a flash of insight that fundamentally shifted how you saw the future? I’ve seen this happen in group dynamics, but only when there is an unusually high level of trust and comfort in the room. Now there’s an emerging field of research and practice that can help us set the scene for this kind of breakthrough.
Innovation expert C. Otto Scharmer draws on the experience of skillful facilitators in global corporate and nonprofit settings to discern the elements that make these collective “ah-ha’s” possible. His Theory U presents these elements in a coherent process that guides participants beyond habitual patterns of listening and thinking.
Scharmer calls this process “presencing” and outlines the steps in Theory U: Leading from the Future as It Emerges, published in 2009. He is also a co-founder of The Presencing Institute, which provides a wealth of information at: www.presencing.com
If you are interested in exploring this approach to creative thinking and visioning, give me a call. And plan to join me and my colleague Michael Bischoff at the Minnesota Presencing Forum on October 24, 2011. This local event is being planned in conjunction with a global presencing forum organized by Scharmer and others in Boston. You can sign up to receive further information about the local event here.
I really like the way you describe Theory U in the first couple paragraphs of your post. Sounds fun! Your language is much more accessible than Otto Scharmer’s usually is.
Thanks Michael. Now let’s see if we can make the process simpler, too!